Shaving implement



l. J EPSON SHAVING i IMPLEMENT May 112, 1942.

Filed May 21. 19:58

Patented May 12., 1.942

narran srnrss rar f azszazfs orifice Ivar Jepsom Chicago. Ell., assigner to (lineage Flexible Shaft Company, Chicago, hl.. -a corporation oi' Illinois Application May 2l, i938, Serial No. 269,23d

(Ci. SMS) 6 Glaims.

.ing the entire movement of the cutter blade past the stationary shearing edges, whereby to eiiect a more efficient cutting or shearing relation between the shearing edges at' both sides oi the movable blade and the shearing edges at the inner side of the stationary arc blade, and whereby said shearing edges at both sides of the movable cutter blade are kept sharp by the selisharpening action of the movable blade in this new relationship. y l

In a shaving implement# oi the character described the comb may be removed for inspection or cleaning; leaving the .cutter .blade exposed. Handling o the electric shaver in this vcondition is apt to cause the cutter blade to be displaced from operative position on its holder and there is also danger oi the blade being thrown clear of the holder ii the electric motor is started. The present invention aims to provide a practical means o preventing displacement or dislodgement of the cutter blade from its holder at all times except when it is desired to remove the blade. Thus, the blade may be assembled on the holder and handled at the factory and in use without danger of displacing or losing the blade under any circumstances.

Another object oi my invention is to provide in ashaver of the .character described, an improved comb construction with the view to simplifying the mounting of the comband to promoting economy in the cost of manufacture.

Another object is to provide improved means for holding and oscillating the cutter blade.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in this art as theinvention becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a lace view of a shaving implement embodying my invention,4 part of the handle structure being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the section line 2-2 of Fig. l:

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section through the shaving head taken substanuany on the section line 3 3 of Fig. l;`

Fig. d is a section taken substantially on the section line d-d of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a face view oi a comb supporting body dieient from that shown in Fig. l, embodying one of the features of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a face View oi the comb per se use with the comb supporting body shown in Fig. 5:

and

Fig. 7 is a cross-section through the comb and its supporting body of the kind shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

My invention may be applied to shaving implements other than those embodying the Bruecker invention above mentioned. However, for purpose of illustrating the present invention I have shownv in' the drawing a shaving implement oi' the Bruecken` type. Briefly, this includes a tubular comb body designated generally by il having hair-receiving openings i2 and supported on a cylindrical extension it of the housing structure id and retained thereon through means of one or more bayonet slot connections i5. A

cutter operating shaft l@ journaled in the housing is concentric with the comb il is parallel with and oiiset from a power driven shaft il which may be the armature shaft of lan electric motor contained within. the handle part oi the housing structure. The present invention provides an improved driving connection between the shafts i@ and il whereby the former shaft is oscillated by 'continuous rotation of the latter shaft. This driving connection consists ofan eccentric pin it on the outer end of the armature shaft connected to one end of a link i9, the opposite end of which is connected at 2l to a lever arm 22 fixed to the inner end of the shaft i6, this driving connection being disposed within the enclosure 23 formed by the housing part- 24 and the outer end of the handleor motor part 25 of the housing structure, the two parts being suitably connected together as by means of screws not shown. This ldriving connection serves to oscillate ythe shaft it and the cutter holder and its blade, which will be presently described, back and forth to rapidly move the blade across the inner side of .the perforated portion of the comb in a shearing action. The particular form and arrangement of the perforations or hair-receiving openings i2 'and i2 in the comb are not essential to the present invention. The small openings I2 in the central area v are` adaptm lor close shaving and the elongated openings Il"` at opposite ends of said central area each with opposed rows of small teeth are for clipping loose hairs. Whre the latter type of openings are used the cutting edge of the blade 32 is slotted or cut away at the portions I0 to provide relief across the open space between the extreme ends of the small teeth so that if the skin should enter this open space and 'project beneath the inner face-of the comb it would not be cut or irritated by the blade. Hair-receiving openings of this type in the stationary comb or blade structure are claimed in the patent to John Bruecker No. 2,234,891. In the present case I have shown openings of this type in the thin tubular body member II in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, and in a thin strip or sheet 43 described below in reference to the form shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. In both of these forms an end cap is applied tol the otherwise open outer end of the tubular bodies and, respectively. It will be manifest, however, that insofar as the function of the cutting elements is concerned the stationary comb member or blade structure as herein termed, may be of any suitable or preferred construction without limitation to the use of an end cap such as designated by, 20. In the present embodiment of my invention the blade holder designated .generally by 26 is integral with its supporting shaft I6 and hasa plurality of radially projecting, longitudinally aligned blade guides 21, 28 and 29. These guides are slotted in a common plane, as at 3 I, to receive a iiat cutter blade 32. In the form here shown, the blade slot 3| extends into the holder proper substantially from end to end thereof as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to accommodate the shape of the blade, the inner edge of which is shown by dotted lines 33 in Fig. 2. By reason of this mounting the blade is loose and free to have bodily movement under centrifugal force and is pressed outwardly by such force against the inner side of the comb in shearing engagement with the inner edges of the perforations therein when the holder is rapidly oscillated. The blade is further pressed outwardly by means of a suitable spring 34 such as a coiled compression`spring confined in a drilled opening 35 in the blade holder between retainers 36 and 31. thelatter of which bears against the inner end of the blade as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The retainer 36 may be in the form of a ring or wire 1o'- cated in a groove in the holder or retained therein by peening the edge ofthe holder. In order to retain the blade in operative relationA with its holder. under all conditions except when it is desired to remove the blade from the holder I have provided a spring pressed retaining ball 38 confined in the holder medially between the ends thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and disposed in an opening 39 in the blade. The opening 39 is of suillcient size to permit a limited amount of radial movement of the blade with respect to its holder so that the blade will be free to seat against the comb under all operating conditions. Thus, when the comb is removed from the shaver, or before assembly thereon, the retaining means 38 prevents displacement or dislodgement the blade outwardly to remove it from the slot 3| or pressing it inwardly into' said slot (as the case ymay be) with pressure suflicient to displace the spring pressed ball. The ball retainer will not, however, be displaced by the force of the spring 34 or the centrifugal force, or both, to the extent of disconnection of the cutter from the holder if the motor should be operated with the comb removed from theimplement. 'I'his feature .of my invention is particularly advantageous and may be generally applied in any shaving implement embodying the principles of the Bruecker invention, or any other shaving implement to which my invention is applicable.

One of the advantages of my invention is the novel mounting of the movable cutter blade 32 on the oscillating holder 29 whereby the movable cutter blade is positively maintained perpendicular to the shearing edges of the stationary arc blade or comb during the entire movement of the cutter blade past said stationary blade edges. It will be observed from the drawing that the slot 3| which has parallel side Walls is in a plane in fixed relation to the shaft I6 of the blade holder and that this plane extendslongitudinally of the axis oi' said shaft and is radial with respect to and intersects said axis. It will also be observed that the fiat cutter blade 32 has a sliding fit in the holder and is confined at both sides by the sidewalls of the radial slot 3| in the holder. Thus, while the cutter blade is free to slide in the plane of said slot it is also positively confined by the side walls of the slot so as to be maintained at all times in perpendicular relation to the shearing edges formed. by the openings I2 in the stationary arc blade or comb Il. The shearing edges at the opposite sides of the movable cutter are, therefore, maintained at all times in closely abutting relation with the inner side of the stationary plate or comb and consequently in improved cutting or shearing relation with the stationary shearing edges. Also, by reason of this improved relationship between the movable cutter blade andthe arc blade an improved self-sharpening action is obtained.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7, I have shown another feature of my invention characterized by a comb in the form of a normally flat strip of extremely thin sheet steel perforated to provide the desired hair-receiving openings and confined internally within a comb supporting body preferably of tubular form. In illustrating this feature of my invention I have shown a tubular body 4| having an opening 42 defining the shaving area. This tubular body may be of comparatively thin material such as drawn tubing. 'Ihe comb proper shown in Fig. 6 is a normally fiat strip or sheet of extremely thin spring steel designated' generally by 43 which is perforated over a central area to provide the desired hair-receiving openings. This strip is of preferably about .003" thickness although it may in actual practice be of less thickness, depending on the diameter of the perforations 44. In the preferred form of my invention the comb 43 is of such length that of the blade from the holder either during hanl dling of the implement or in the event of operit4 may be curled or coiled into tubular form for insertion into the tubular support 4I through an open end thereof and when so inserted it will conform to the cylindrical internal wall of the holder 4| with the opposite ends 45 in abutting relation asshown in Fig. 7. In this form of thev invention I prefer-to reduce the end portions of the comb at the sides 48 so as to reduce the internal stress of the comb at its end portions and thereby permit such end portions to seat throughout their length against the internal wall of the tubular comb holder. In this form of my I V 2,282,725 linvention they inherent expansive force of the comb exerts sufcient pressure against the internal wall of the tubular holder 4l to retain the comb in the desired operative position and with its perforated portion ina true arcuate shape.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to details set forth, since these may be modified Within the scope of Vthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. In a shaving implement, a removable comb, a cutter, a holder for the cutter, means for rapidly moving the holder to operate the cutter in coaction with the comb, means whereby the cutter is free to move upon and with respect to the holder in a direction to urge its cutting edge into intimate shearing engagement with the comb when the holder is operated and whereby when the holder is operated centrifugal force is imposed on the cutter in said direction sufficient to disconnect the cutter from the holder in the event of removal of the comb, and means carried on the holder in cooperative relation with the cutter arranged so as not to interfere with the normal functioning of the cutter and to positively prevent disconnection of the cutter from the holder in the event the latter is operated with the comb removed, the second mentioned means having a part normally preventing said discon-l nection and operable manually by the user to permit removal of the cutter from the holder without disturbing the operative relation of the holder with respect to the shaving implement.

2. A shaving implement as set forth in claim 1, in which the second mentioned means comprises a spring-pressed ball mounted in the holder and the cutter has an opening to receive a projected portion of the ball, the opening being shaped to allow the rst mentioned movement of the cutter on the holder, and a wall of said opening serving to prevent disconnection of the cutterV from the holder when the comb is removed.

3. In a shaving implement, a body having an internal wall of .cylindrical-like form and an opening therein defining a shaving area, and a comb of normally flat thin sheet steel perforated medially between its ends to provide hair-receiving openings in an area conforming substantially with the shaving area opening, the comb sheet being disposed within thebody with its perforated area in registration with said shaving area opening and having such inherent resiliency as to press outwardly against the internal cylindricallike wall with its opposite end portions extending substantially beyond the shaving area, a substantial length of each end portion of the sheet being gradually reduced in width toward its outer end to provide a diminishing degree of reduction in internal stress in such end portion to accurately conform the comb to the internal shape of the body. l

4. In a machine of the character described, a stationary blade structure including an arcuate thin body portion, the outer surface of which is adapted to be pressed against the skin and having a plurality vof hair-receiving openings therein defining a plurality of stationary shearing edges, a movable blade comprising a plate one edge of which defines a shearing edge extending longitudinally with respect to said body portion, a

shaft, means mounting saidshaft for oscillation about an axis parallel tothe longitudinal axis lof said body portion, means mounting said movable blade plate upon said shaft for sliding movement in a plane in xed relation to said shaft extending longitudinally of said axis and intersecting said axis whereby the shearing edge of said blade will be maintained in closely abutting relation with the under surface of said body portion and substantially perpendicular to the shearing edges of said stationary blade structure.

5. In a machine of the character described, a stationary blade structure including a thin body portion, the outer surface of which is adapted to be pressed against the skin and having a plurality of hair-receiving openings therein defining a plurality of stationary shearing edges, a movable blade comprising a plate, one edge of which defines a shearing edge abutting the under surface of the body portion, means for moving the blade relative to said body portion tomove the shearing edge thereof through a path parallel with the under surface of said body portion, and means mounting said movable blade upon said moving means solely for movement relative thereto in aplane in fixed relation to said shaft perpendicular to the under surface of said body portion whereby the shearing edge of said movable blade will be maintained in closely abutting relation with the under surface of said body portion to render said movable and stationary blades self-sharpening.

6. In a machine of the character described, a stationary blade structure including an arcuate thin body portion, the outer surface of which is adapted to be pressed against the skin and having a plurality of hair-receiving openings therein defining a plurality of stationary shearing edges, a movable blade comprising a plate one edge of which defines a shearing edge vextending longitudinally with respect to said body portion, ashaft, means mounting said shaft for movement about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, means mounting said movable blade plate upon said shaft for sliding movement in a plane in fixed relation to said kshaft extending longitudinally of said axis and intersecting said axis whereby the hshearing edge of said blade will be maintained in closely abutting relation with the under surface of said body portion and substantially perpendicular to the shearing edges of said stationary blade structure.

IVAR JEPSON. 

